Continuous ultrasound-assisted extraction coupled to on line filtration–solid-phase extraction–column liquid chromatography–post column derivatisation–fluorescence detection for the determination of N-methylcarbamates in soil and food

A dynamic ultrasound-assisted method for the extraction of N-methylcarbamates (oxamyl, dioxacarb, metolcarb, carbofuran, carbaryl and isoprocarb) from soils and foods is proposed. The main factors affecting the extraction efficiency have been optimised by means of a central composite design. Pure water can be used as leaching agent. A flow injection manifold coupled to the extractor allows automation of the several steps involved in the analytical process. The method allows extraction of the carbamates from soil and food at 1 μg/g spiked level, with recoveries similar to those provided by the EPA 8318 method, without degradation of the target compounds during the extraction and with drastic shortening of the time required for this step (2 min vs. 4 h). Recoveries of the target analytes were 77–95% for spiked soil and 85–101% for spiked food. The detection and quantification limits were 12 and 40 ng/g, respectively, for all analytes, except carbaryl (detection and quantification limits 3 and 10 ng/ng, respectively). The relative standard deviations for repeatability and within-laboratory reproducibility were 3.1 and 7.5%, respectively.